Thaw
by Ultiman92
Summary: AU Chaserfic. As Ven thaws out, Aqua reflects on their long relationship together.


Hello, all. Now, why in the world did I decide to do this fic? See, after seeing a definite lack of any good stories on concerning the Chasers, I decided to step in and fill the void. Be sure to take this story with a grain of salt. I, like everyone else in the world, know next to nothing about Birth By Sleep, this is just my take on their backstory. So please don't flood me with reviews saying "this is all wrong" and such, okay? I already know that.

On with the fic!

* * *

Thaw

Aqua paced nervously. Thoughts were running through her head too fast for comprehension. _Is Ven okay? What did that ice do to him? Terra's been in there so long… Is there a problem? What's going on? And why won't he let me in to see him?!?_

A door hissed open. Terra slowly walked into the room, leaning in the doorway. He wiped the sweat off his brow. "Ven's going to be fine."

Aqua let out a huge sigh of relief. Terra went on. "I've managed to start the melting process. It'll take a couple hours, but eventually he'll come around."

"Can- Can I go in to see him?" Aqua asked quietly. Terra shrugged. "I don't see the harm in it. Just remember, he'll still be unconscious until morning." Aqua nodded. "I'll stay by his side."

Terra walked out of the door, "I think I'll go take a nice, hot shower. Night, Aqua."

Aqua stepped into the room, slowly closing the door behind her. She looked upon the prone figure on the table. Ven lay there, still frozen in his state of terror. Only now, Aqua could see beads of condensation forming on his skin.

Aqua drew up a chair next to the table, sitting down. She leaned over Ven and clasped his frozen hand in hers. _Do you still remember, Ven, the day we met…._

000

_Five-year old Aqua was cautiously stepping through the forest. She was scared out of her mind. _Why do I hafta go get the ball? Everybody knows these woods are haunted.

_Her thoughts were shaken when she spotted the blitzball she and her friends had been playing catch with. She ran over to it, only to be stopped when a shoe came down on top of it. A scowling, brown haired boy crossed his arms, glaring at her. "What d'you think __you're__ doing here?"_

_Aqua stepped back, her eyes wide with fright. "W-Well, m-my ball landed here, and I-" "Shut up," the boy snapped at her. "These are our woods, leave now or face the consequences."_

"_Terra, Terra, wait up!" A blond haired boy raced up behind the brown haired one, panting. Terra rolled his eyes. "Go back, Ventus. This isn't your business."_

"_Stop calling me that! My name is Ven!" The blond boy pouted. "An what's so __**im-por-tant**__ that I can't see?" "There's an intruder here. I'm making her leave." Terra stated. _

"_Oooh, a __**girl**__?" Ven began hopping up and down, trying to see over Terra. "Lemme see, lemme see! C'mon, Terra! No one new __ever__ comes around here!"_

_Aqua regarded this last statement with surprise. "You live all alone?" she inquired. Ven stopped jumping. "Nuh-uh! There's me, an Terra, an Master Xenort!"_

"_Xehanort, Ven," Terra explained irritably. "Xe-han-ort." He caught himself, and wheeled around suddenly. "Ven!" he scolded. "Don't mention the Master in front of this stranger!"_

"_Who's Xehanort?" Aqua asked confusedly. "Don't tell her!" Terra hissed. _

_Ven didn't seem to hear. "He's our Master, and we work real hard for him," Ven babbled excitedly. "He's training us to become the Keybearers an-"_

"_Keybearer?" Aqua repeated, getting more confused by the second. Terra slapped a hand to his forehead. "Great," he growled. "Just great. Why don't you invite her to join us, too?" _

_Ven's face lit up. "Oh, Terra, can we?" he shrieked. "No, no, I didn't mean-" Terra said hastily._

_Ven bounded forward and seized Aqua by the wrist. He began dragging her deeper into the forest, chattering all the way. "This is so cool! You'll get to see our mansion in the middle of the forest an' live with us an' play wiv us an become Keybearers together an'-"_

_Terra ran after them, muttering under his breath._

000

Aqua smiled, remembering that day. _Ven was so adorable back then…but even with all his exuberance, it was still scary meeting Xehanort for the first time…_

000

_The bald man towered over her. His very presence was imposing, from the slight swish of his cloak to his gleaming yellow eyes that seemed to stare right through her. "So, this is the girl you told me about, Ven?" he asked in his deep voice._

_Ven nodded eagerly. Terra stood off to the side, his crossed arms and his scowl making it quite clear he wanted nothing to do with this. _

"_What is your name?" Xehanort inquired. She stepped forward, her eyes at her shoes. "A-Aqua," she stammered. _

_Xehanort smiled. "You have nothing to fear from me, child. Now tell me, who are your parents? I happen to know just about everyone in Radiant Garden." "No parents," Aqua said quietly. "I'm an orphan."_

_Ven looked horrified. Even Terra spared her a sympathetic glance. Xehanort bent down and put a hand on her shoulder. "You poor thing," he murmured. "Aqua, have you ever dreamed of being a warrior, fighting off the forces of darkness?"_

"_Say yes!" Ven not-quite-whispered. Terra dug an elbow into his side. "Well, I've kinda always wanted to be a mage," Aqua said shyly, her cheeks coloring._

_Xehanort's eyebrows lifted in surprise. "A mage?" he asked. He stood up and turned towards the two boys. "Well, we don't have one of those yet, do we, Terra?" "No, sir," Terra replied, his gaze trained on the floor and still scowling._

_Xehanort turned back to Aqua. "Would you actually like to become a mage?" "Well, I guess," Aqua mumbled. "But I never thought-" Xehanort smiled again. "Then consider yourself one of us now." _

_Ven couldn't have looked happier. Terra was staring at Xehanort in wide –eyed shock. "Master - you can't – she – it's not –" he spluttered. Xehanort turned and walked back toward his quarters. "I think she'll make a fine addition, don't you think so, boys?" _

_Ven nodded eagerly. Terra turned off to the side and snorted._

000

_I never thought I'd ever become an actual mage,_ Aqua thought to herself. _It had always just been a childhood fantasy of mine._ She turned back to Ven, who now was covered in condensation. _I probably never would have tried as hard as I did if Ven hadn't been there, cheering me on. There was always something about Ven that made me never want to disappoint him._

_Still,_Aqua thought, _things were good for the first couple years. Terra gradually came to accept me. I learned every kind of basic spell. Even Ven seemed to improve with his Keyblade. But everything changed when __**he**__ came…_

000

"_Come closer, everyone," Xehanort called. "There is someone I would like you to meet." Aqua and Ven, now ten-year-olds, walked into the room, followed by Terra, now thirteen._

"_As you know, I am getting old. My skills are beginning to diminish. There will come a time when I am no longer able to train you three. Therefore, I have taken on an apprentice from Radiant Garden." Xehanort gestured towards the shadows. "Come out, now," he called. "These are your friends."_

_An armored figure materialized out of the shadows. He wore black and red armor, with his face completely concealed by a glass helmet. Aqua wasn't sure, but she could almost swear he was studying Ven._

"_His name is Umbra. (1) I hope you will all become close allies and even closer friends," Xehanort said smoothly. "I will leave you all to get acquainted." With that, he turned and swept out of the room._

_The silence stretched out in front of them. Umbra did not move, just simply stood there. Finally, Ven stepped forward and cautiously extended a hand. "Welcome to Keybearer Academy."_

_Without warning, Umbra reached forward and clutched Ven's hand in a tight grip. "I hope to learn much from you, Ventus of the Keyblade," he said in a low, cold voice._

_After an awkward moment, Ven slowly withdrew his hand. "Well…be seeing you, then," he said awkwardly. He turned to leave, walking back towards the doorway. Terra and Aqua fell into step beside him. _

_As they crossed out of the room, Aqua glanced back over her shoulder. Umbra was still there, still staring after Ven._

000

_He was so creepy,_ thought Aqua, shuddering. _For some reason, Umbra seemed totally fixated on Ven.(2) And that helmet…Even now, I've __still__ never seen his face._

Aqua turned back to Ven, his features slightly blurry under a layer of melting ice. _Oh, Ven, you really never trusted him at all. We should have listened to you from the start. You were always telling me to stay away from him, that he was dangerous. It was so sweet. You've always been sweet, Ven…_ With that thought, her mind swept back to another memory, this one of barely two years later…

000

_Aqua emerged from the training room, panting. She wiped an arm across her brow, exhausted but satisfied. She'd been run ragged in spellcasting, and by the end Xehanort had congratulated her on her progress._

_Walking across the hall, she spotted Ven, slowly approaching her with his hands behind his back. "H-Hi, A-Aqua," he stammered. Aqua raised an eyebrow. Ven was not one to stammer._

"_You okay, Ven?" she asked cautiously. Ven bobbed his head. "Y-Yeah. Sure. I'm fine." Aqua peered to the side of him. "What's that in your hands?"_

_Slowly, Ven withdrew a yellow, five-pointed fruit. "What's that?" asked Aqua. "A paopu. They're really rare. I got it in the Radiant Garden markets," Ven said in a rush. He tentatively held it out to her. "Want to share it?"_

"_Okay, sure," Aqua replied, shrugging. Ven wore an expression of carefully controlled excitement as he slowly tore the paopu in half, handing one to Aqua. She bit into it, savoring the sweet, slightly bitter taste. Ven quickly downed his half._

"_Hmm. Not bad," mused Aqua. "Well, see you later, Ven." _

"_Yeah, see you," Ven replied, his face flushed and grinning. The two turned and went their separate ways. Hearing a noise, she turned around to see Ven punching the air, then continuing on with a definite spring in his stride._

_Still confused, Aqua went on down the hallway, thinking about Ven's strange behavior. _

"_So Ven shared his paopu with you, huh?" Terra called, startling her. He was casually leaning against a doorway with his arms folded, smiling._

_Aqua gave him a strange look. "Just now, how did you-?" Terra smirked. "I saw Ven buy it in the markets. I knew he was getting it to share with you."_

"_And how did you know that he wanted to share it?" Aqua asked. Terra viewed her with an incredulous look. "Wait. You're telling me you've never heard of the superstition that if two people share a paopu, their destinies will be intertwined forever?"_

_Aqua was taken aback. "Wait – So Ven was – he wanted – our destinies – __why didn't he ask me__?" she exclaimed. _

_Terra chuckled. "Ven's had a crush on you for quite a long time now. He just doesn't know if you feel the same way."_

"_Personally, I think it's about time you gave him an answer." Terra turned and began walking further down the corridor, leaving Aqua behind with her thoughts._

000

_I'd always had a suspicion in the back of my mind that you liked me, Ven,_ Aqua reflected. By this time, small pieces of ice were beginning to slip off of Ven's body. _I just never thought to act on it. Maybe I was a __little__ warmer to you after that, but still…It seemed like you were almost about to ask me out. – when everything changed…_

000

"_Master Xehanort! Master Xehanort!" Ven burst into Xehanort's private quarters, with Aqua and Terra close behind him. _

_Xehanort turned around swiftly. "Is something wrong?" he asked, a definite trace of amusement in his tone._

"_Umbra, he's summoning Heartless! Thousands of them!" Ven exclaimed. "He's got a whole army down there!" _

"_Does he now?" Xehanort asked, smiling._

"_Why aren't you taking this seriously!?" Aqua burst out angrily. "Umbra's got enough Heartless to destroy all of Radiant Garden! How can you not find this important?"_

_Xehanort laughed. "My dear girl, I __**am**__ taking this seriously." His yellow eyes gleamed. "You see, I told him to do it."_

_The three stared at him in shock, Aqua taking an involuntary step backward. _

"_Why?" Terra shouted, anger and disbelief written into his face. "You told us we needed to fight the darkness! Remember? Isn't that why we were taught how to use the Keyblade?"_

_Xehanort shook his head, still smiling. "I have found those doctrines to be a waste of time. Why bother fighting the darkness when we can take control of it? With Umbra's Heartless army at our side, who knows what we could achieve? We could open Kingdom Hearts itself!"_

_."You're insane," Terra whispered hoarsely. "Mad. I can't believe this. You've turned into the very thing we were taught to destroy."_

"_I had hoped you wouldn't act like this," said Xehanort ruefully. "You have to learn when to let go of a failing strategy, Terra."_

"_Our 'strategy' was working just fine – until Umbra came along!" Ven yelled. _

"_He's right," Aqua chimed in. "Umbra's corrupted you, Master. Can't you see what you're doing?"_

"_All I am doing is helping the worlds," Xehanort shot back. "If you still recognize me as your teacher, you will do as I say and help me."_

"_You stopped being our teacher the second you let Umbra in," Terra spat out distastefully. He motioned to the others. "Let's go. It's become clear that Xehanort has nothing left to offer us."_

_The three of them turned and walked steadfastly out of Xehanort's quarters._

"_Go on, leave!" Xehanort called back after them. "You will soon enough discover that you have made the wrong choice!"_

000

_If it hadn't been for Yen Sid, we would have nowhere to go,_ Aqua thought, wiping tears out of her eyes. Even now, the memory of Xehanort's betrayal still hurt.

By now, pieces of ice were sliding off Ven every couple seconds. Aqua adjusted her grip on his hand and returned to her train of thought._Yen Sid…he was much better than Xehanort ever was. And to think I thought everything was over…when it had only just begun…_

000

_The three Keybladers were sprawled over various pieces of furniture. Ven was snoring on a couch. Aqua was shining her Keyblade on a table. Terra was staring out the window._

_Yen Sid entered the room hurriedly. "Everyone!" he called out. "I have urgent news!"_

_Ven instantly woke up and shifted to face Yen Sid. Aqua put down her Keyblade. Terra turned back towards him._

_Yen Sid clasped his hands together. "Mickey has returned from Xehanort's Mansion. He says…there's no sign of Xehanort, Umbra…or the Heartless."_

"_So where are they?" Aqua asked, almost afraid to hear to hear the answer._

_Yen Sid turned from them slightly. "I do not know," he said softly._

"_So Xehanort is loose out there somewhere with an army of Heartless?" Terra asked, his eyes hard._

"_That would appear to be the case," Yen Sid said gravely. "However, there is a way to slow down his plans somewhat."_

"_Tell us how, and we'll do it." Terra said without hesitation. Ven and Aqua nodded._

_Yen Sid called up a hologram of a world. "This is the Barren Plateau. This world contains, among other things, a Keyblade graveyard."_

"_Keyblade graveyard?" Aqua questioned. Yen Sid altered the hologram, replacing the image of the world with a flat landscape, marked by hundreds of Keyblades impaled in the ground._

"_When a Keybearer dies, their Keyblade is used as a gravestone to honor them," Yen Sid explained. "Three Keyblades on this world have a unique power, having personally sealed Kingdom Hearts themselves."(3)_

_Ven raised his eyebrows. "Just what can they do?" Yen Sid moved the hologram to focus on three Keyblades stuck next to each other. "Whenever Kingdom Hearts is sealed, a small part of it enters the Keyblade that sealed it, increasing its power greatly. Not many know of this phenomenon, and even fewer know what these special Keyblades are capable of in the right hands ."_

_Yen Sid spread his arms wide. "Xehanort has most likely heard of these Keyblades and will attempt to seek them out. Your mission is to get them before he does."_

"_What will we do with them once we have them?" Terra asked. Yen Sid smiled. "You will wield them as your own Keyblades."_

"_Wait-we already have our own Keyblades," Ven said after a pause. "I never said you would be giving those up, now did I?" Yen Sid replied._

_There was a shocked silence. "Wield – two at once?" Terra put in, his face filled with surprise. "Not even Xehanort can do that!"_

"_I have a feeling you three are more powerful than even Xehanort," Yen Sid answered. "You want to beat him, do you not?"_

"_Well…yes…" Terra replied quietly. "Good then," Yen Sid straightened up, "start preparing. You will leave tomorrow."_

000

_And after that…_ Aqua shut her eyes tightly, blotting out the tears. The memory that followed still haunted her dreams.

_It wasn't Yen Sid's fault,_ Aqua reminded herself. _He had no way of knowing Xehanort was going to be there at the same time. Still.._ Aqua looked down at the now rapidly melting Ven. _This is what happened when we tried to take on Xehanort and Umbra by ourselves._

Aqua pulled out her new Keychain. _All that for this…was it really worth it?_

000

Aqua did not even realize she had fallen asleep when she woke to find Ven's hand curling around her own.

Ven slowly sat up, brushing stray ice crystals out of his face. "Aqua?..." he whispered.

Tears brimming in her eyes, Aqua reached forward and hugged Ven as hard as she could. Surprised, Ven tentatively put his arms around her.

"Don't you _ever_ leave me again, hear me?" Aqua half-sobbed. Hesitantly, Ven reached out and stroked her hair. "D-don't worry, Aqua," he said quietly, "I'll never leave you."

Terra watched them from the doorway, a satisfied smile on his face. "Meant to be, those two," he said to himself.

_The End_

* * *

(1) The Chaser's name are based off of the Latin names for earth, wind, and sky, so I used the Latin word for shadow, umbra, to name Xehanort's mysterious apprentice.

(2) Anyone else notice how in the KH2 secret movie, Umbra mostly focused on Ven in his attacks? Could be just coincidence, but I think not...

(3) Remember that one moment from KH2? You know, the triple door sealing? And it just happened to be those three stuck in the sand in the secret movie?

Hate it? Love it? Then be sure and tell me in a

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